Flight
by sue-sylvester-shuffle
Summary: Takumi feels like no one wants him around, but a certain little nephew could be the one to change his mind.


Takumi was not wanted.

He could feel it everywhere he went. Behind all of the smiles and passing greetings lay something that he knew all too well; they didn't want him there. He may have been a good shot with his bow, but once they were off the battlefield, he was worthless; just an angry teenager stuck in the shadows of his older siblings. No one would ever say it to his face, but he could feel it. He could see it in the way they looked at him.

As Takumi was sitting in camp one day, he was overcome by how overcrowded everything felt _._ Near him, Silas and Hinoka were training, chatting as they did so. Off to his other side, his retainers, Oboro and Hinata, were laughing hysterically at gods-know-what. In the distance, Felicia the maid stumbled and dropped a whole stack of bowls with a resounding _crash_. All of the various noises felt magnified to Takumi, who was sitting by himself, fiddling with his bow. _Too loud._ His legs were itching to get away from it all.

The icing on the cake was Oboro's spear flying out of nowhere and landing a few feet from Takumi. Startled, the archer fell backward, sprawling on the ground.

Oboro jogged over and stood over him, barely stifling her laughter. "Sorry, Lord Takumi. I, ah… I guess things got a little out of hand. You okay?"

A surge of anger and embarrassment coursed through Takumi. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Hinata appeared beside Oboro and punched her playfully in the arm. "Nice aim."

" _Hey!_ You faked me out, you dimwit!" retorted Oboro, hitting him back. They looked like little children, Takumi observed, as he sat up and pulled his retainer's spear out of the ground.

"I'm going for a walk," he announced suddenly, getting to his feet. Oboro and Hinata stopped smacking each other and looked at him, blinking in unison.

"Um, okay," said Hinata. "Have fun, Lord Takumi."

As he walked away, he was sure that he heard Oboro and Hinata whispering- about him, most likely- but when he turned around, they were just tossing around her spear again.

Takumi kept walking.

He had an inferiority complex, and he was only too aware of how paranoid and anxious it made him. He was constantly convinced that people were talking about him; about how _weak_ he was, about how much _less_ he was compared to Ryoma and Hinoka.

"Heyyy! Uncle Takumi!"

The sound of the bright little voice behind Takumi made him snap out of his self-deprecating thoughts. He stopped in his tracks, and turned around. His youngest nephew Kana was standing there, beaming all over his round face.

 _Oh, gods,_ thought Takumi. _Not_ him _again._

He didn't dislike Kana; far from it, actually, but the boy's constant excitement always seemed to sap the energy right out of him. Kana was like a miniature version of his father, Hinata, which meant that he was always very cheerful and determined. Luckily, Kana hadn't inherited his father's cockiness, but Corrin's kind, humble nature instead.

"Kana," sighed the archer, looking down at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"Not really," said Kana, his voice as excitable as always. "Where are you going?"

Exasperation stabbed at Takumi. "Don't you have something better to do than bother me?" he snapped.

His nephew shook his head, but he didn't look upset. In fact, he looked completely unfazed. "Nope, not really. I just finished helping Mama with something, and then I saw you all alone over here, so I thought I'd come say hi."

Takumi's irritation faded slightly. "You… just came to see _me?_ "

"Uh-huh," replied Kana, and then giggled. "You sound surprised."

"Of course not," lied Takumi, his voice edged with defensiveness.

As he looked down upon the brown-haired boy, a little voice inside his head whispered, _Be_ nice _to him, Takumi. He only wanted to say hello. He's Corrin's son, after all. Your nephew._

He took a deep breath, and then smiled. "Kana, I was actually going out for a walk. Would you like to come with me?"

Immediately, Kana's blue eyes lit up. "Yes _please,_ Uncle Takumi!" He reached up a hand toward Takumi. It took the Hoshidan prince a moment to realize what Kana wanted. He took his nephew gingerly by the hand, and they started to walk further into the nearby forest.

"I feel like I don't see you very much, Uncle Takumi," Kana thought out loud as they went. "Not as much as Uncle Ryoma, Auntie Sakura, or Auntie Hinoka, at least." He puffed up his little cheeks. "I wish you were around more."

Takumi's chest tightened. Ryoma and Hinoka were able to beat him in everything, whether it was in battle, popularity, or their parents' love. It was starting to seem like Kana liked them better, too. Frankly, he wasn't surprised. " …Well, I bet they're better aunts and uncles than I am, anyway," he said bitterly. "So it isn't that big of a deal."

Kana stopped suddenly, causing Takumi to stop as well. "But Uncle Takumi!" the boy exclaimed, eyes wide. "That isn't true! Don't be so mean to yourself!"

Takumi didn't know what to say. Instead, he looked away, his throat feeling dry. Kana darted forward then, wrapping his arms around Takumi's waist. They were so short that his fingers couldn't touch. Surprised, Takumi looked down. Kana was smiling.

"I love you, Uncle Takumi," said the boy.

Takumi found himself stunned into silence. Kana loved him. Kana, who was so young and pure, loved _him,_ who was so… _broken._

It hurt.

It felt good, but it still hurt.

He knelt down and pulled his nephew into a tight hug. Kana gave a little, startled, "Oh," but then laughed and put his arms around Takumi's neck. The archer smiled, closing his eyes. He loved hugs, as long as they were from someone he trusted. Any kind of physical contact that made him feel like he mattered to someone was good, really.

"Thank you," he whispered. "I love you too, Kana."

After a few moments, Kana let go of his uncle. Takumi then scooped the boy into his arms and placed him carefully onto his shoulders. Kana squealed with excitement, holding onto Takumi's ponytail.

"This is like when Auntie Hinoka let me ride her pegasus!" said Kana.

"Oh, yeah?" responded Takumi. "And how fast did Hinoka's pegasus go?"

"Really fast!"

"Do you think I can go faster?" Takumi asked, shooting a determined look up at Kana. There was a daring glint in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Kana exclaimed.

"Okay, I'm up for the challenge. Hold on tight, all right?" After checking to make sure that the boy was going to be safe, he started to run. Kana cheered and laughed, his small hands nestled in Takumi's lengthy ponytail. The trees whipped by, beginning to blur into green watercolour as Takumi gained speed. It was freeing. The endorphins inside of him were shooting every which way, and he closed his eyes to immerse himself in the moment.

He heard Kana yell something, but the boy's words didn't register until a few seconds later… a few seconds too late. "Uncle Takumi, look out for that root!"

Takumi's foot caught in a thick tree root in the ground, and before he could slow down, he tripped forward. There were a few long moments where he felt as if he were falling, and then…

 _Crash!_

Takumi slammed into the ground, his head hitting first with a loud thud. He flipped forward, and Kana tumbled off of his shoulders with a gasp. Takumi lay there, dazed, until he was able to sit up. His head was spinning, but he could see Kana sitting a few feet away, looking surprised.

Immediately, Takumi crawled over to his nephew. "Are you alright!?" he asked, his voice frantic. He did _not_ want to face Corrin's wrath if anything happened to her son.

"I'm fine!" exclaimed Kana, grinning. "But guess what, Uncle Takumi? You flew, just like Auntie Hinoka's pegasus!"

"Did I?" Takumi thought back on how he'd tripped spectacularly over that root. He _had_ flown a little bit, at least in Kana's eyes, until he'd landed, face first, on the ground. He laughed, unable to keep himself from smiling. "Ha! I guess I did fly a little bit."

"That was really fun," remarked Kana as he stood up and dusted off his pants. Takumi stood up as well, but a wave of dizziness hit him and he grabbed a nearby tree for support.

"Damn it," he hissed.

Kana looked concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, Kana… Just a little dazed," said Takumi. He tried to take a few steps, but swayed on the spot. With a sigh, he added, "I guess I hit my head pretty hard. If only I could ride on _your_ shoulders now, huh, kid?"

Kana's face brightened. "You can!"

Takumi raised one eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, not my _shoulders…_ I don't know if dragons have those… but still."

"Dragon?" echoed Takumi, still lost.

Kana reached into his pocket and pulled out his Dragonstone proudly. "I can turn into a dragon like Mama, remember?"

"That's right!" Takumi grinned. "All right, Kana. Show me what you've got."

Kana cupped the iridescent stone between his palms. There was a flash of bright light, so Takumi closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found a silvery dragon standing in Kana's place. Kana's dragon form was smaller than Corrin's, but looked just as fierce. The dragon lowered itself so Takumi could climb aboard.

He had never ridden a dragon before; somehow, it had seemed strange to ask Corrin for a ride. But as Kana flew him the short distance back to their camp, Takumi found himself wishing that their destination was farther away. The wind whipped by, fanning out Takumi's ponytail behind him. To his surprise, he found himself thinking back to a time when he had been young, six or seven at the oldest, riding on his father's shoulders. Kana was right; it _had_ felt like flying. He was glad that he had provided that experience for his nephew.

When they arrived at the camp, Kana stopped to let Takumi off, and then turned back into his human form with another flash of light. He was half the height that he had been as a dragon, which made Takumi chuckle despite the pounding in his head.

"Auntie Sakura!" Kana called over to the pink-haired girl, who was passing by.

"Hi, Kana!" said Sakura, smiling down at her nephew. "What can I help you with?"

To Takumi's dismay, Kana pointed up at him and told Sakura, "Uncle Takumi hit his head really hard! Can you heal him?"

"Not so _loud_ , Kana!" hissed Takumi, his eyes darting around the camp to see who was listening. If his siblings found out that he'd injured himself in such a stupid way, what would they think of him?

"Is that true, Takumi?" Sakura asked, looking concerned. "Come with me so I can heal you."

"All right," he muttered in response, grudgingly letting Sakura take his arm.

"Bye!" Kana exclaimed, waving to them as they left.

"So what were you doing?" inquired Sakura.

Takumi sighed. "Just playing with Kana. He was riding on my shoulders, and things got a little out of hand."

Sakura smiled. "Oh, Takumi, that's so cute. You're such a good uncle, you know."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious!"

"Not as good as you, Ryoma, or Hinoka, though," Takumi mumbled.

"Why do you say that?" asked Sakura, sitting her brother down in his tent and raising her staff. "You were having so much fun with Kana that you ended up hurting yourself. I think that's the sign of a pretty good uncle."

Takumi smiled; it was true. "I suppose you're right."

She smiled back before touching the staff to his temple. "All right, Takumi, are you ready? The pain will go away, but I think you're going to feel sleepy, so you might want to rest for a while."

He nodded; it wasn't the first time Sakura had used her powers to heal him, and it sure wouldn't be the last. "I'm ready, Sakura," he said.

"Wait!" exclaimed a small voice from outside. Both siblings turned to see Kana dash in. He sat down beside them, beaming.

"Kana!" Sakura greeted him. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come be with Uncle Takumi," replied Kana. "It's kinda my fault that he got hurt, so I wanted to be there for him."

Takumi's chest felt warm. He smiled at Kana, pulling the boy closer to him. "Thanks. You're a good kid, you know that, right?"

Kana grinned widely. "I know."

Sakura looked affectionately at both of them. "Are you ready, Takumi?" she asked.

Takumi nodded, and closed his eyes as gentle light began to emanate from Sakura's staff. He was dimly aware of the pain and dizziness being lifted from his body, and being replaced with fogginess. He put his head down, his eyes fluttering.

He still had the crushing feeling that he was unwanted; that was something he would carry with him for a long time, deep inside where nobody else could see. But the fact that Kana loved him made him feel much better about himself. He couldn't be all _that_ bad if he had Kana's affection.

And, with Kana nestled against him like a small animal, Takumi couldn't help but smile as he drifted off into sleep.

end


End file.
